Broken
by DarkPoisonousLove
Summary: Valtor's order to go check up on Griffin provides the Trix with the opportunity to learn more about his ex partner and the relationship between them. How will that affect them?


**A/N: I'm planning on writing a prequel to this so tell me what you think. Reviews are always appreciated.**

Valtor had called for them first thing in the morning which meant that he had a mission for them. Darcy could already feel the magic awakening within her, impatient to be let out and bring her victory. Her excitement was cut short, though, when Valtor filled them in on their... task.

"What, we're caretakers now?" Icy snapped, speaking for all three of them.

"She needs tending to," Valtor explained calmly, unperturbed by her outburst. He'd probably expected it. He was too smart not to. And he was too unimpressed by it.

"I thought she needed to sit in her cell and rot," Icy said, her gaze following him on his way across the room as the scowl took over her face.

"What she needs is to suffer," Valtor said, enunciating as if they needed help to understand. "She hasn't suffered nearly enough," he continued as he turned his back on them, his voice quieter this time, somewhat vulnerable as memories of the betrayal probably ran through his mind. "I need her to suffer more," he was talking more to himself rather than to them, sounding more and more distant.

"We can't go through the spell of the door," Icy tried again. Admitting weakness was never acceptable. Yet, Darcy would've tried that approach as well. With every passing second her desire to do what he wanted of them lessened. And she hadn't had any to begin with.

"I'll open it for you," Valtor said as he sat at the chair that had once belonged to Griffin, indicating that the discussion was over.

"She'll try to escape," Stormy objected.

Valtor's response was a smirk that made Darcy's blood run cold. "I wouldn't worry about that," he said and motioned for the door to open, practically throwing them out, convinced that he'd won the argument.

Something about his words didn't sit right with Darcy. And she could see the same held true for her sisters in the way Icy frowned and Stormy covertly bit into her lower lip, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut.

They left the office, neither one of them thinking of arguing further. A heavy silence hung over them as they were all trying to decipher the meaning behind Valtor's words. They walked slowly, none of them burning with the desire to find out exactly why they had to go take care of Griffin.

"Can you believe that?" Icy asked, her outrage as genuine as ever. "He's sending us to tend to her as if we're her personal servants." Though the words were forced.

"Yeah," Stormy agreed. "As if we don't have better things to do."

Darcy kept quiet. It would take more than witching for her to shake off the uneasiness that had settled in her. It was ridiculous, really. She couldn't remember when was the last time she'd had a drop of respect for Griffin. Probably back at freshman year. Griffin had looked like a pillar of strength and composure back then, gliding through the spells with ease and regality. But since they'd started honing their powers and developing their craft, they'd learned that they could do much, much more than anyone had ever suspected. Her respect for Griffin had started waning as that for herself had been growing. But then again, it wasn't Griffin she was worried about.

They reached the cell to find Griffin lying on the ground on her side, turned away from them and obviously unconscious. They looked at each other, now aware of what Valtor had meant. Yet, that didn't make the anxiety go away. It only exacerbated it.

The door stayed locked for just long enough to let the anxiousness seep deep into their bones before the spell disappeared, allowing them into the cell.

They walked in, their eyes trained on Griffin's form, the same question haunting each of them. Still, it seemed like neither one of them wanted to actually learn what was the reason for that woman that had stayed strong and defiant even in the most dire of circumstances to be lying on the ground like dirt. It seemed like no one planned on moving. It seemed like Darcy would have to be the one to do it because she couldn't take it anymore.

She walked over to the woman they'd once learned from and knelt down. She had to know what they'd have to deal with. She had to know what exactly Valtor was capable–and likely–of causing to someone who had once been his partner.

She grabbed Griffin's shoulder to turn her on her back but let go as soon as she pulled on it.

"What is it?" Icy asked, her voice hollow without the anger or mockery that usually coated it.

It took Darcy a second to push down the lump of ice in her throat. "Her shoulder's dislocated," she said as she turned to look at her sisters. Her gaze moved from Icy to Stormy, and they both seemed to be swallowing the same unpleasant realizations.

People didn't pass out from dislocated shoulders. Something else had happened to Griffin. Something else had been caused to her, Darcy corrected. Valtor had entertained himself with Griffin's torture, starting small and building on his rage.

Darcy turned to look back at Griffin and for the first time since freshman year she wasn't certain she was stronger than her. She wasn't certain that any one of them was.

She moved to turn Griffin on her back. She put her hand on the woman's hip only after she'd made sure there was no injury there. She didn't mean to gasp but she did it anyway when she saw that Griffin's face and neck were covered in sweat beads. She had serious fever. She was probably dying.

Darcy shot up and backed away from the repulsing realization. She looked at Icy, waiting for her to tell her what to do. Stormy seemed to be doing the same, allowing grave silence to settle over them as they waited for Icy to take the lead instead of standing like a statue. Or for Griffin to die. She wasn't certain which would happen first.

"Let's just fix her shoulder," Icy said, her gaze glued to Griffin's form. "Then we'll see what to do about the fever."

Both Darcy and Stormy nodded, "Yeah."

"Stormy," Icy turned to her abruptly, "can you force her shoulder back with your magic?"

"Y-yeah, but-"

Icy turned back to Griffin and summoned small ice needles that pinned her sleeve to the floor to hold her in place. "Do it," she said as she let her hands fall at her sides.

Stormy rounded Griffin to get a better angle to work from, but instead of doing as told, she covered her mouth with her hands.

"What?" Icy's snappy tone only gave away her nervousness instead of masking it as intended.

Both she and Darcy joined Stormy on the other side of Griffin's form and followed their sister's gaze.

Darcy's stomach turned at the sight of Griffin's torn dress that revealed a horrible jagged wound on her thigh. It was deep enough for them to see the bone and had festered, causing an infection. No wonder she was feverish.

"Stormy," Icy's voice was shaking. Just enough for it to be noticeable. But that was far too much. "Fix her shoulder," she hissed.

Stormy raised her shaking hands and let her magic push Griffin's shoulder back in its place. The shaking didn't stop even after she succeeded and let the violent energy pouring from her palms die down. For they hadn't fixed anything.

"Should we get her on the cot?" Darcy suggested.

"I won't be carrying her," Icy lifted her chin, appalled by the mere idea.

Darcy had to admit that the thought of touching Griffin was wholly unappealing to her, too. "Stormy, can you use your magic to do that?"

Stormy startled out of her trance-like staring and turned away from Griffin to look at Darcy. Her skin was pale and her eyes were wide but she nodded. "I think I can." She summoned her wind once again to lift Griffin off the floor and move her to the cot. "Okay." She took a deep breath when she successfully lowered Griffin down on the narrow piece of wood.

"What do we do now?" Darcy asked as she turned to look at Icy. They'd run out of excuses to keep stalling.

"Shh," Icy's gaze was once again fixed on Griffin. "Her lips are moving."

"What?" Stormy asked.

Icy made her a sign to shut up and pointed at Griffin.

Both Darcy and Stormy turned to look at the woman to find that Icy was right. It was just an incoherent murmur at first, but then it became loud and clear enough for them to make out the words.

"Valtor..."

Icy was at Griffin's side in an instant and someone who didn't know her would think her worried for Griffin's health. Darcy knew it'd been Valtor's name falling from Griffin's mouth that had lured her closer, though. She didn't seem to mind the proximity anymore. In fact, she looked like a scared cat that kept moving its ears in every direction, desperately trying to catch any sound that could mean danger. Except, Icy didn't have the ability to do that. So she'd opted for closing the distance between her and Griffin to make sure she wouldn't miss anything. Darcy couldn't blame her.

"Don't... Don't leave... me," Griffin spoke, deep into whatever dream her mind had concocted.

"This is pathetic!" Icy sneered, pulling back a bit as if worried that Griffin's weakness might be contagious.

"You can't... to handle... thing," Griffin spoke again. What was she on about?

"Darcy!" Icy's tone was as sharp as the shards of ice that were her weapon of choice. "Can you see inside her head?" It wasn't a question. It wasn't even a suggestion. It was a command that was poorly concealed as something else. Still, that order Darcy didn't mind following. For she yearned to know just as badly.

"Of course," she said, already moving to the end of the cot. She knelt down again and placed her hands on Griffin's temples, grateful to herself for having the foresight to include gloves in her outfit.

Even in her weakened state, Griffin still tried to put up a fight and protect her mind from Darcy's invasion. So much so that she needed a full ten seconds for her magic to break through Griffin's own and get inside her memories. One memory.

It hit her so hard. The anger seething in Griffin. She was furious. Yet, she spoke evenly. Even Darcy wasn't sure how she could do that. If she were her, she would've unleashed her magic long enough ago for it to had swept away everything around her by now.

"You can't make me kill all these people."

Valtor regarded her with the same unimpressed look he'd given Icy earlier. Objections didn't phase him for he knew he'd get what he wanted one way or another. "They saw us. We can't let anyone know we were here," he spoke as if she couldn't understand the situation.

"Which is why I told you we needed a covert approach, a disguise," she said in that same patronizing manner, trying to get a reaction out of him.

"Why would I inconvenience myself when there's a simpler solution?" Valtor smirked at her.

Darcy felt the vibration of Griffin's teeth grinding in her own bones.

"It wasn't necessary to kill all these people," she tried again with a hint of a plea in her voice. Anything to change his mind.

"You're right, it wasn't," Valtor said, causing her heart to flutter with hope for a second. "And now it is," he drowned her in his darkness, knocking all the air out of her. "I trust that you can handle that. Or do I have to do it myself before _I_ leave?" The implication was clear.

"Well?" Icy's impatience pulled her out of the memory.

Darcy remembered she was back at Cloud Tower's dungeons. And she hadn't been the one who'd been ordered to murder all those innocent people. The thought was odd. What would it have mattered even if she had been? It wasn't like she cared about the innocent. She only cared about herself. But if it wasn't that, what was eating her up on the inside?

She retold the scene for Icy and Stormy. From the change in their expressions she could tell it had quite the similar effect on them even though they hadn't witnessed it personally, having Griffin's emotions in their heads. Though, she supposed they could relate the way Valtor had treated them earlier.

Stormy looked at Icy and then at Darcy, probably having reached the same conclusion. "What should we-"

"Wait," Darcy interrupted her, "it's shifting."

A new scene sucked her in. Griffin's head was laid on someone's shoulder. Someone she couldn't see. It wasn't Valtor. It was someone else she knew but couldn't quite recognize. But she didn't have the time to dwell on that.

Griffin was crying hot tears. And inside her everything was broken and torn apart. And Darcy wanted to let go. She'd never felt such pain before.

It was cold on the inside. Freezing. And bleeding. And the blood was freezing. And it was heavy. It was torturous. It was hell. It was Valtor.

Darcy let go, falling backwards on the ground when she released her magical hold on Griffin's mind so suddenly.

"What happened?" Icy asked, her gaze boring into her, trying to rip out the answer from her mind, much like they'd done to Griffin.

"She was in pain," Darcy said, trying to banish the sensation from her mind. She hated to revisit the feeling. "I've never felt anything like it."

"What was it?" Stormy asked as she moved to help her up.

Darcy took her hand, secretly grateful for the help. She wasn't sure she could stand up on her own. "Broken heart," she answered, causing Stormy to pause for a second before she pulled her up to her feet.

"What does that mean?" Icy fired out, more likely in search of confirmation of her suspicions rather than in expectation of new information.

Darcy hesitated for a moment, unsure of what Icy's reaction would be regardless of the fact that she probably already knew the answer. But putting it off would only exacerbate Icy's temper. "She loved him. Valtor," she clarified. "She loved him and she was mourning," she said, the memory dragging her back into its depths despite her attempts to stay on the surface. "She'd just learned he'd been sent to Omega. Her heart was freezing. And there was someone there with her but she was so cold, so alone," she couldn't stop the words from falling from her mouth. They said you couldn't remember the sensation of pain. But it was so fresh and raw in her mind that she doubted she could ever forget it. So she desperately tried to pour it out in the open through her words.

"Did he love her?" Icy asked. She seemed ready to gloat at the answer. She seemed ready to cower away from it.

Darcy shook her head, noticing the gloating spark in Icy's eyes. "I don't know," she said causing the triumph to evaporate from them.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Icy snapped at her, forcing her to take a step back to avoid the harsh blow of the words. The stroll in Griffin's mind had left her too exhausted to be able to deal with it. "Find out."

"I can't." Darcy didn't even have the energy to bite back even though it would've been well-deserved. "She doesn't know."

Both Stormy and Icy looked at her with their eyes widening in disbelief.

"All these years she's been in love with someone she knew would tear her apart for her betrayal and she didn't even know if he loved her?" Icy asked, trying to wrap her mind around it.

Darcy nodded, her gaze moving to Griffin who'd calmed down after her magic had probably pulled her out of her state of delirium. It sounded pathetic. But somehow that word didn't fit Griffin. Not anymore. There had been times when it had seemed so. But now that she'd felt Griffin's pain and had only been able to take it for less than a minute... she had to admit her admiration for the woman was back. At least some of it.

"Let's do something for her wound," she urged. She couldn't stand the sight of the ugly tear a second longer. It reminded her too much of the ones on Griffin's heart, and that was more than she wanted to take. It was more than she could take.

Stormy nodded.

Icy didn't say anything.

But they both summoned their magic and helped her cast the strongest healing spell they knew. Ironically, Griffin had been the one to teach them about it. It was so strong because you used the pain you were in to power it. It gave you the exact amount of magic you needed to heal yourself. It was primarily a self-healing spell. Rather useful for a witch.

Darcy wasn't sure their spell could heal Griffin completely. She wasn't sure anything could. But it could help ease her suffering and right now that sounded good.

She felt the energy draining out of her but didn't stop. And neither did Icy and Stormy. Not until they'd used up most of their power and the wound on Griffin's thigh was almost closed. The sweating seemed to stop and the hallucinating did, too. The delirium had come back while they performed the spell and Darcy was certain she'd heard Faragonda's name leave Griffin's mouth but that was of no interest to her. Getting Griffin up and running on the other hand...

"That should be enough for now," Stormy's arms dropped at her sides.

Darcy could barely stand on her feet, yet, she felt just a smidge better. "Yeah, for now." She knew she'd be back the moment she had regained her strength. To finish the job.

But for now there was nothing else for them to do so they headed out.

The moment they left, the shimmering bars reappeared, sealing Griffin's fate. The sound of their materializing cut through Darcy like a blade. Valtor wanted to keep Griffin prisoner. He wanted to destroy her. The only person that loved him. He'd made her betray him, go against him, against herself. And now he was punishing her for it. What would he do to them when they didn't even love him?

They only loved his power. But what would happen if one day he decided that wasn't enough, decided they weren't giving him enough of their loyalty when they refused to put his interests before theirs, decided to punish them? What would he do to them? She had to know. And she could tell Icy and Stormy needed that answer, too.

So the next day when Valtor told them to go check up on Griffin again, they put up a fight. And when they'd convinced him he'd broken them in despite their lack of desire to do his bidding, they materialized in front of the cell.

It didn't open for them for Griffin was awake. Her dress was closed, not even a memory of the tear in it left behind, so they supposed that she was healed enough for her magic to have been restored.

"What do you three want?" she regarded them with a cold glare, most likely unaware what they'd done for her. It didn't matter anyway. It was nothing. They'd done nothing for her. Or for Valtor for that matter. All they did was for themselves. "Did Valtor send you on guard duty?

He might as well have done it. He must have known she was better. So what other reason could he have to send them in?

"Tell us about Valtor," Icy said, ignoring the remark thrown at them.

"What?" Griffin asked and the ice had left her tone to make space for the confusion to settle in.

"Everything," Icy said as she employed her magic to make herself a chair of unthawable ice. "We want to know everything," she said as she sat down. They'd probably be there for a while.

Darcy and Stormy followed her example and used their powers to make themselves comfortable.

Griffin's gaze softened. Just like it had that first day of freshman year when she'd sent off the students to their dorm rooms. Darcy had noticed it back then, too. It had made her lose an ounce of respect for the woman. Because she cared.

Now it made her gain a ton. Because Griffin still cared. Even with that broken heart of hers.


End file.
